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To watch the first of these videos, please click HERE.

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Agenda for Thursday, January 16th 

1. Opening (5 minutes) 
   1. Joint Legislative Committee Ground Rules 
   2. How do I …use AdvoKit? 
2. What Has Happened 
   1. Testimony Provided 
   2. Monitored   
      1. Committee Briefings 
   3. Other
      1. Coalition Overview 
3. What Is on the Horizon
   1. New Bill Overview (1-210)
      1. LD 1 – An Act To Increase Storm Preparedness For Maine’s Communities, Homes And Infrastructure
      2. LD 5 – An Act To Clarify The Law Regarding Prior Authorization For Air Ambulance
      3. LD 12– An Act To Amend The Freedom Of Access Act To Apply To Legislative Caucuses
      4. LD 18 – An Act To Allow The Department Of Corrections To Increase Health Care Fees And Use The Proceeds From Those Fees To Offset The Costs Of Client Medical Care Support Workers
      5. LD 35 – An Act To Strengthen Local Emergency Medical Services By Increasing The Mainecare Reimbursement Rate For Ambulance Services
      6. LD 42 – An Act Regarding the Bind-over and Detention of Juveniles
      7. LD 49 – An Act To Ensure Quality In Personal Care Agencies
      8. LD 59 – An Act To Ban The Drug Tianeptine
      9. LD 63 – An Act To Support Implementation Of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Projects
      10. LD 67 – An Act To Establish Minimum Standards For Certain Urgent Care Facilities
      11. LD 70 – An Act To Fund Free Health Clinics
      12. LD 82 — An Act To Amend The Workers’ Compensation Laws By Extending Indefinitely The Presumption Applying To Law Enforcement Officers, Corrections Officers, E-9-1-1 Dispatchers, Firefighters And Emergency Medical Services Persons Diagnosed With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
      13. LD 84 – An Act To Improve The Coordination Of Health Care For Minors In State Care
      14. LD 90 – Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review Of Chapter 6: Delegation Of Nursing Activities And Tasks To Unlicensed Assistive Personnel By Registered Professional Nurses, A Major Substantive Rule Of The Department Of Professional And Financial Regulation, State Board Of Nursing
      15. LD 93 – An Act To Reduce Cost And Increase Access To Disease Prevention By Expanding The Universal Childhood Immunization Program To Include Adults
      16. LD 94 – An Act To Eliminate Miscarriage Reporting Requirements
      17. LD 104 – An Act To Protect The Health Of Medical Cannabis Patients And Streamline The Mandatory Testing Of Cannabis
      18. LD 105 – An Act To Implement The Recommendations Of The Commission Regarding Foreign-trained Physicians Living In Maine To Establish A Sponsorship Program For Internationally Trained Physician
      19. LD 107 – An Act To Require Health Insurance Coverage For Biomarker Testing
      20. LD 108 – An Act To Authorize The Release Of Military Records To The Office Of Chief Medical Examiner For The Purposes Of Suicide Reporting And Prevention
      21. LD 113 – An Act To Require Food Labels To Disclose Use Of Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Vaccine Material In Food Production
      22. LD 117 – An Act To Provide Funding For Sexual Assault Services
      23. LD 123 – An Act Regarding Licensure Of Emergency Medical Services Persons
      24. LD 143 – An Act To Improve Women’s Health And Economic Security By Funding Family Planning Services
      25. LD 145 – An Act Pertaining To Sales And Use Tax Exemptions For Durable Medical Equipment, Breast Pumps And Mobility-enhancing Equipment
      26. LD 156 – An Act To Improve Notifications Related To Substance-exposed Infants
      27. LD 163 – An Act To Require Health Insurance Coverage For Federally Approved Nonprescription Oral Hormonal Contraceptives And Nonprescription Emergency Contraceptives
      28. LD 165 – An Act To Allow School Boards To Expel Or Suspend Students Regardless Of Grade Level
      29. LD 166 – An Act To Prohibit The Sale Of Tobacco Products In Pharmacies And Retail Establishments Containing Pharmacies
      30. LD 167 – An Act To Provide 2 Hearing Aids To Mainecare Members With Diagnosed Hearing Loss
      31. LD 174 – An Act To Restore Religious Exemptions To Immunization Requirement
      32. LD 176 – An Act To Establish A Regional Ambulance Service In Southern Penobscot County
      33. LD 177 – An Act To Create Municipal Cannabis Revenue Sharing
      34. LD 178 – An Act Regarding Coverage For Step Therapy For Advanced Metastatic Cancer
      35. LD 182 – An Act To Require The Department Of Health And Human Services To Establish Mainecare Reimbursement Rates For The Maine Veterans’ Homes On A Per Resident Basis
      36. LD 189 – An Act To Increase Availability And Affordability Of Mental Health Care And Substance Use Disorder Services By Removing The Certificate Of Need Requirement
      37. LD 208 – An Act To Eliminate The 72-hour Waiting Period On Firearm Purchase
      38. LD 209 – An Act To Make Supplemental Appropriations And Allocations From The General Fund And Other Funds For The Expenditures Of State Government And To Change Certain Provisions Of The Law Necessary To The Proper Operations Of State Government For The Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025
      39. LD 210 – An Act Making Unified Appropriations And Allocations From The General Fund And Other Funds For The Expenditures Of State Government And Changing Certain Provisions Of The Law Necessary To The Proper Operations Of State Government For The Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2025, June 30, 2026 And June 30, 2027
4. In-Depth Bill Discussion for Upcoming Week 
   1. The Budget! (LD 209 and LD 210) 
   2. LD 107 – An Act To Require Health Insurance Coverage For Biomarker Testing
      1. Public Hearing on 1/28 
   3. LD 93 – An Act To Reduce Cost And Increase Access To Disease Prevention By Expanding The Universal Childhood Immunization Program To Include Adults
   4. Driver’s Licenses and Mental Health 
   5. MMA/MOA Lead Bills
      1. Prior Authorization – Medication and Long-Term/Chronic Care 
      2. Patient Safety for Medical Cannabis 

5. Member Issues
6. Closing

We will also be using this website to track the bills this Session.  Please feel free to use this as a resource to learn more about the many bills that we are covering this Spring. If you ever want to talk more about a bill, then please feel free to reach out to Anne Sedlack at asedlack@mainephysicians.org. 

All are welcome on the  Zoom! You can register here for a weekly calendar invite. Or you can use the information below to join us:

Join Zoom Meeting: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/w/83420621170?tk=1Xosuy3GlJD0YfEZAqiQy9HBnmejeoCUMpHH-iuSAZs.DQYAAAATbEGpchZKUmJUcGxHSFJmRzYtZmxrRTZ1NEVnAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meeting ID: 834 2062 1170

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We’re excited to announce the addition of physical therapy to our comprehensive lineup of peer review services. In addition to physical therapists, we collaborate with a diverse range of healthcare professionals including dentists, psychologists, PAs, NPs, CRNAs, nurse midwives, social workers, and of course, a wide array of specialists in every field of medicine.

For over 35 years, the Maine Medical Association (MMA) has provided external peer review coordination, supporting high-quality patient care throughout Maine. In 2024, the Center for Quality Improvement (CQI) proudly inherited this vital program, and we’ve been working diligently to enhance and expand it. Our goal is to ensure that hospitals, practices, and other healthcare facilities receive the confidential, protected support they need to focus on what matters most: quality patient care and safety.

This program is managed by the MMA’s Committee on Physician Quality, a team renowned for their exceptional expertise and professional oversight. For more information about peer reviews, please visit our page at Committee on Physician Quality Peer Review Program | MMA or reach out to Julie Oliver, Peer Review Program Coordinator, at joliver@mma-cqi.org. Wishing you all a prosperous New Year!

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We also talked about committee assignments, which came out on Thursday morning! Legislators are assigned a committee (or two!) to spend the next two years diving into the issues. They get to rank their top choices, and then leadership assigns them their spot. Two Democrats get chosen as Chairs,, meaning they control the scheduling and lead the meetings. One Republican gets selected as the Lead, which means they are in charge of organizing the other Republicans on the committee. We’ll be diving in deeper on the members as the months go on, but here is a brief rundown of the two committees that most of our issues are assigned. 

Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 

Health and Human Services 

Advocacy Opportunities: 

1. Reach out to our federal delegation to vote to support the Protect Access to Care for Seniors law, which would help reform the prior authorization system. 
2. Volunteer to gather signatures with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition because they need 15,000 more signatures to get the ballot initiative considered. 
3.  Please email Senator Collins and Senator King to encourage them to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s appointment to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 
4. Sign on to Family’s USA letter to Congressional Leadership about the importance of Medicaid 

Finally, here is your interesting article of the day with a quote from Andy Maclean!: Doctors Say Dealing With Health Insurers Is Only Getting Worse: “Andrew MacLean, chief executive of Maine Medical Association, said he receives phone calls every day from physicians struggling with health insurers demanding so-called clawbacks for bills that had already been paid. ‘It almost feels like they do it because they can,’ MacLean said of the insurers. ‘By no means do we applaud this or would we condone violence, but it’s a scary indication of just how frustrated people are about the current system and the imbalance of power—and physicians certainly feel that.’”

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This two-page document will give you great information on ways to get involved and an overview of the current political landscape. We also worked with your 2025 Legislative Committee Co-chairs (Isabella Askari, D.O., Kathryn Brandt, D.O., M.S., MEDL, Patrick Connolly, MD) to develop our 2025 priorities, which are a reflection of what we heard from our members through surveys, formal listening sessions and ongoing conversations. 

As you’ll see, the priorities are broad buckets that will encompass both offensive and defensive work at the Legislature. Some of the priorities have made the list before; for example, we will always advocate for improvement to issues that affect your daily practice, like prior authorization reform and protecting the physician-patient relationship. But we have a couple of new ones on the list, too; for example, “Advancing Health Equity for all members of our community by addressing Social Determinants of Health Care” is a long phrase; yet, we feel it captures many of the important public health issues that members want us to work on such as combatting climate change, ensuring access to broadband and much more. 

Please note, the first piece of the document has a lot of great information about ways to get involved. We heard from members that they didn’t always know how to engage with advocacy efforts, so we want to make sure you know of the many opportunities that are open to all physicians in the State, including 

• A hybrid kick-off meeting of the Legislative Committees on Thursday, December 12th, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm (email slepoff@mainephysicians.org to RSVP). It will start with a dinner to connect with your peers and end with an overview of the 132nd Legislature. 
• Weekly Zoom Legislative Committee meetings starting January 16th from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (register here or look for the link in our weekly e-news) 
• Physicians’ Day of Advocacy at the State House on March 6th from 8:0am to 12:00 pm (RSVP here or email asedlack@mainephysicians.org if you can’t access Google) 

I, along with the rest of the staff at MMA and MOA, are excited to work with you all for another legislative session. We want to make sharing your voice as easy as possible, so please keep looking out for ways to get involved in the e-news! And always reach out with questions! 

Best, Anne 

Anne Sedlack, Esq., M.S.W. (she/her/hers) 

Director of Advocacy, Maine Medical Association 

Cell: 203-560-9302 

Email: asedlack@mainephysicians.org 

The post 2025 Maine Medical Association and Maine Osteopathic Association Legislative Priorities Version Two appeared first on The Maine Medical Association.

Thanks to this recent recognition, our MMA-CQI SSG Fox project team has been busy spreading the word about this lifesaving tool.

• In early September, MMA-CQI led a presentation of the toolkit to attendees at the Supporting Veterans’ Resilience Symposium co-hosted by partners at the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services and NAMI Maine.
• This past October, the toolkit was shared at the monthly Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenge with the participating states’ teams to share best practices to prevent suicide among service members, Veterans, and their families.
• In November, the team recorded a presentation and interview for the ECRI Behavioral Health Virtual Mini Conference on Suicide Screening and Prevention: Best Practices for Promoting Integrated Behavioral Healthcare.

These events allowed participants to learn how Maine successfully created a community of practice with Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services, Health Affiliates Maine, Maine VA, Maine Crisis Line, and Maine healthcare providers to prevent Veteran suicides. This community of practice works to identify Veteran patients in healthcare settings, screen them for risk of suicide, and provide them with the resources, support, and services they may need and/or want.

To continue spreading awareness of the toolkit and making it available to a wider audience, the MMA-CQI team is available to provide technical assistance (TA) virtually or in-person. TA may be used for guidance on implementing processes, requesting presentations to healthcare providers, and any other needs for anyone interested in learning more about the project, toolkit, or community of practice.

For a printable PDF version of the toolkit, please click here.

For more information or to request TA, please contact Mary Milam at mmilam@mma-cqi.org.

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Now that the election has passed, we wanted to share the 2025 Maine Medical Association and Maine Osteopathic Association Legislative Priorities document for our collective work on state and federal healthcare policies. We have been holding out on sharing this document until the State elections were more settled, but with 11 races set for a recount, we decided it was better to share Version One of the document and then share Version Two with an updated “Political Landscape” section once all of the races have officially concluded. Version One has yellow highlights that are areas that are subject to change. We will send out Version Two in a subsequent e-newsletter. 

This two-page document will give you great information on ways to get involved and an overview of the current political landscape. We also worked with your 2025 Legislative Committee Co-chairs (Isabella Askari, D.O., Kathryn Brandt, D.O., M.S., MEDL, Patrick Connolly, MD) to develop our 2025 priorities, which are a reflection of what we heard from our members through surveys, formal listening sessions and ongoing conversations. 

As you’ll see, the priorities are broad buckets that will encompass both offensive and defensive work at the Legislature. Some of the priorities have made the list before; for example, we will always advocate for improvement to issues that affect your daily practice, like reform to prior authorization and protecting the physician-patient relationship. But we have a couple of new ones on the list, too; for example, “Advancing Health Equity for all members of our community by addressing Social Determinants of Health Care” is a long phrase; still, we feel like it captures a lot of the important public health issues that you all identified you wanted us to work on like combatting climate change, ensuring access to broadband and much more. 

I also want to flag the first piece of the document, which has a lot of great information about ways to be involved. We heard from members that they didn’t always know how to get engaged in the advocacy efforts, so we want to make sure you know of the many opportunities that are open to all physicians in the State, including 

• A hybrid kick-off meeting of the Legislative Committees on Thursday, December 12th, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm (email slepoff@mainephysicians.org to RSVP). It will start with a dinner to connect with your peers and end with an overview of the 132nd Legislature. 
• Weekly Zoom Legislative Committee meetings starting January 16th from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (register here or look for the link in our weekly e-news) 
• Physicians’ Day of Advocacy at the State House on March 6th from 8:0am to 12:00 pm (RSVP here or email asedlack@mainephysicians.org if you can’t access Google) 

I, along with the rest of the staff at MMA and MOA, are excited to work with you all for another legislative session. We want to make sharing your voice as easy as possible, so please keep looking out for ways to get involved in the e-news! And always reach out with questions! 

Best, 

Anne 

–––––

Anne Sedlack, Esq., M.S.W. (she/her/hers) 

Director of Advocacy

Maine Medical Association 

Cell: 203-560-9302 

Email: asedlack@mainephysicians.org 

The post 2025 Maine Medical Association and Maine Osteopathic Association Legislative Priorities Version One appeared first on The Maine Medical Association.